Pruning my Collected Larch Bonsai, The Bonsai Zone, April 2019

My collected Larch (Larix laricina) bonsai is greening up fast so I need to prune the branches before they get too hard to see!
These trees are also called tamarack or hackmatack.
To see previous videos of this tree, click the playlist below.....
• Single Larch Progression

[@bargarelos]

I'ts kind of funny think we are in oppositing hemispheres. When in Canada is spring, in Brasil, Rio grande do sul, is autumn. So, when you are runing with your repots, im will go prepare my trees to could of winter, and with the size of your collection i see its a hard work 😉. Lucky for us, what we will have so many wonderfull videos to see.

[@grobonsai]

I'm undecided about lichen, on one hand, the colour of the bark looks great cleaned up, but it also looks a bit.... I dunno, raw or young, when freshly cleaned :) A bit of 'patina' but not so much to hide the bark... Great tree, very natural

[@patsfreund9164]

How fortunate to have two possible fronts for a bonsai! I like the new front choice. This tree is developing nicely. Good job!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you Pat!

[@drjones8176]

That larch forest is spooky brilliant works by nigel s at kw bonsai

[@gmacisbac7]

Awesome as always.

[@ErikPukinskis]

Wow, excellent video. We really get to see all the choices very clearly.

[@jonikovanen1172]

If you were some science teacher, I'd love your teaching style...! Just saying you're great at what you do!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you, my hero is Doc Brown from Back to the future!

[@VanDamArtisan]

You've had a busy spring Nigel! Thanks for all the updates!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you, still some re potting to go!

[@newleafbonsai6788]

Great decision on cutting the branch back . That branch in place is all it needs . They're beautiful . I've seen your videos of them through the seasons . They look good year round . I need to get a few Larch seedlings this year. I think winter is cold enough here .

[@mbspresidentcherylsykora3631]

I really like this Larch Nigel. I'm going to search to see if you showed it again after the three to four flushes of growth.

[@mattbrennan647]

Nice detail work. Wonderful flowing movement in both roots and branches.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you Matt!

[@BonsaiJCan]

Looks great !

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you, hoping for some nice growth this summer!

[@rene485]

lovely

[@dabblingwithbonsai]

I just planted my larch seeds yesterday along with a few maples and the Laburnum alpinum. Hoping to have at least one larch looking as pretty as this one. Thanks for the video!

[@blueridgebonsai9155]

Nigel-you are a great inspiration and bonsai ambassador. I bought 10 american larch last spring and then got another 10 Japanese larch this spring. They are growing like weeds and I am letting them grow pretty unfettered to develop the trunks. Next spring the American larch will be put in a forest planting and the Japanese larch will be used to make two 5 tree clumps. Keep the videos coming. Also, I would like to know more about your root rake. Are they readily available for sale somewhere? You should come out with a line of Nigel’s Bonsai products to sell on Amazon or eBay, and include the root rake.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

The root rake was bought at a second hand store 25 years ago. It was part of an indoor gardening kit. I have never seen another like it, and I have looked everywhere online. All the best with your Larch forest and clump. Sounds great!

[@chandrakantthakare3787]

Very nice sir

[@maryshoemaker1437]

I like it Nigel... it looks awesome!!

[@kro_nos__]

I really enjoy a new video in the morning, have a nice day Nigel

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you, glad you like the videos!

[@kro_nos__]

@@TheBonsaiZone I have enjoyed them for almost 3 years, you're great!

[@MultiZNB]

BEAUTYFUL

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you!

[@marysoldeeley2218]

It was very relaxing to watch you do all that pruning, after a long day at work!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you, I was hard at work planting fruit trees in the orchard today. We got six planted, I'm hoping to show them in a quick update soon.

[@marysoldeeley2218]

@@TheBonsaiZone Wonderful!

[@bitnertinkers]

Here we go!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Into the Foist Zone!

[@miraztinygarden]

I love larch tree,nice video

[@jaygofett8545]

nicely done! I think that was a great improvement. Good work

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks JF!

[@vildotcom]

Love the daily videos

[@arnoldmmbb]

24:49 with that front the first branch go totally back to the tree also the second goes back a little maybe the back of the tree would make nicer front

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Very possible, I'll be sure to examine it closely for the next re potting!

[@robert-sl4cc]

thank you for all the info i have learned from your videos. This will be my first year collecting . I have around 15 trees so far. Its amazing how you look at trees different, from new to old when you get into this hobby. I think i might speak out loud " here i go " before any work i do because I've seen so many of your videos lol. One thing, i hope some day you replace your glass top work area. Pots on that are like nails on a chalk board when you spin them around. but i still will watch anything new you post. thx again

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Robert, nice to hear you are enjoying the hobby. I'll try not to use the glass in future!

[@toddstropicals]

Your larch looks awesome, I really love those trees. I doubt they'd grow to well here in Florida. I was thinking about you yesterday while pruning up my kaffir lime tree AKA Vlad the Impaler we affectionately call it due to it's wicked spines.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I'm amazed at how long the killer spikes get on my Lemon tree! I remember stepping on one after pruning the tree, it went through my shoe and into my foot. I now carefully place the clippings on the bench!

[@toddstropicals]

@@TheBonsaiZone Oh yeah, that hurts! And has happened to me also.

[@ravinderchauhan909]

Good style

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you!

[@geordiejohn3703]

Great video thanks Nigel. I would be interested to know why you decided to remove the horizontal branch near the top instead of wiring it. I really like your tree. 👍🏻

[@jamesgavern2084]

He’s working on ramification.

[@ashwarirai]

Wooo tinny buds looking butyfull sir.

[@Mr.Stagg67]

Great video

[@deploribusunum3894]

I'm liking your music!

[@entyropy3262]

As long as he does not use this "choir" samples, I don't mind. I am not a fan of church like music, it is terrible.

[@A.C.556]

Looks so great! Im in the tri-cities too and have been looking for a tamarak for a while but no luck. Conon had some but they're 8' feet tall. It would be great to find one in the forest somewhere but no clue where to look. Any ideas?

[@josecouto1957]

Buen vídeo.. saludos

[@geofflinn6906]

Nigel...You are my go to when it comes to anything bonsai related. Natalie is your stuff educational, but it’s interesting as well. I’ve just inherited a Japanese boxwood that is fairly young. It’s nursery stock… And I was wondering how difficult it is to trim the roots and if there’s anything I need to be worried about

[@hectordehesa2118]

Looks great! I have a challenge for you. If you’re willing to accept; Will you try an air layering next year? I really want to try one and would like to see how well another first rounder has at it.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Hector, a good challenge, I'll see if I can fit it in!

[@MD-wk3gj]

You could repot that in a circular pot and have multiple options

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Very true! I am all out of mica pots, I'll have to get some more!

[@aarifah8328]

Hi Nigel, thank you for your vidéos, I learned a lot from you :)) just recently I noticed you changed the music of the video, specially this last one: kind of scary sounds, to me :))

[@orlando6914]

You should do a Q&A

[@jimmiemarud]

I do realy like you amazing work. Tho i god a question about your root rake, is it possible to buy somewhere? Or how do you get them, i hope to be able to get i in denmark :)

[@hollymunfordbloe4744]

Greetings! BLOE BONSAI CLUB

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Hello Holly!

[@bonsaitherapy1468]

Mr.Saunders, did you ever wired branches on that tree? I don't remember if you did, but those branches are really nice!

[@arnoldmmbb]

But with that front the first branch leans to the back of the tree and thats not desirable

[@gimmethebits]

@@arnoldmmbb I think that curvature of the first branch slightly down and towards the back flows beautiful with the tachiagari of the trunk, and just emphasizes the bottom half of movement that much more. It also is probably the most aesthetically pleasing choice of a front for the tree because of the slight inverse taper it gains at the node of that first branch, which Nigel quite excellently distracts the viewer from by giving the perspective that it is just the large base of that first branch. Beautiful tree all in all, I love Larix Laricina.

[@arnoldmmbb]

the first branch always have to come forwards to the observer as the inclination of the apex of the tree, the branch or the tree are not ugly but that movement its not very orthodox

[@bonsaitherapy1468]

@@arnoldmmbb the tree is tall enough with a trunk tall enough making the positioning of that branch perfectly fine. If it was a shorter tree maybe that branch would be a problem, but being that high it adds to the tree flow. Besides, sometimes one shouldn't be to stuck on rules just because. In nature the tree really doesn't care if the branches are to high or to tall, facing the viewer or not, and some bonsai artists like to show the nature process as much as possible. Its like having a peijing forest with uneven number of trees just because its a rule.

[@arnoldmmbb]

Bonsai its not a tree in the wild there are some basic rules your ichi no eda can not go to the back of the tree

[@MightyGodofGods]

Woot!

[@jcbizthekey]

Wow you keep dropping vids so often! Yay for spring! Nigel, a while back I had emailed you, I was wondering if I can again? I need some special help and tips for a pine I got given to me, was starting to get brown needles when I got it, and was badly root bound... So I reported it, hoping that it would come back to life.... It browned off almost completely, perhaps 2 pairs of green needles...

[@jcbizthekey]

No bonsai clubs around here or anyone that I've found with any knowledge that was of any help... A horticulturalist even stopped giving me advice as soon as I mentioned bonsai, like I was wasting my time and hers by even asking her about it (she said it's probably dieing because bonsai is tree torture, which I know is false)

[@pansepot1490]

Jesse Bushore, I don’t know about torture but Nigel has mentioned several times that he has lost several trees, some to cold but also quite a few after severe root pruning. Some conifers are particularly sensitive to that. If I was you I would join an online forum/Facebook group or similar for bonsai enthusiasts and ask there. In those online communities there’s always people willing to help and share their knowledge with others. Nigel has a huge following and I don’t think he can possibly keep up with the hundreds of questions he gets from his viewers. Cheers and good luck 👍

[@jcbizthekey]

Yea I understand it's all part of this game we play with the trees, some loss is normal, but figured I'd ask in case there was any possibility to revive this little tree I got given to me. It's got a nice trunk

[@justanopinionontheinternet]

Hello Bonsai community! I am fairly new to the art of bonsai. I would really like to buy a young (2-3 years old) Larix to make it a bonsai but I have one question! Is it possible to make it an indoor bonsai? I am not concered about the light but more so about messing with the natural change of seasons (and temperature). Would it harm the Larix?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

The Larch trees need a cold winter rest and wouldn't survive long indoors. You would be best to pick a topical tree for inside, a Ficus or a dwarf Schefflera are good choices!

[@justanopinionontheinternet]

@@TheBonsaiZone not the answer I was hoping for but an answer I appreciate. Thanks!

[@matthewmclaren2143]

Mr.Saunders, The Purpose of a Bonsai is to create the Most Perfect Tree. all be it in minature form. So The type of tree im training into a bonsai should be a Perfect Representation of the Specimen of tree. But say if i took a Differant type of Tree and styled it into another type of tree. Would that be seen as a bad thing in the Bonsai world ? always wondered this As i dont plan on Buying a Bonsai that has been grown and started. I plan on starting from Seedling as i have already done.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I personally like to style the tree to it's native form if possible, but that would not hold true for most of the bonsai world. Most of the trees I see are all styled to a triangular pine tree type form, even most maples. I think the most important aspect of bonsai is to take the viewer on a journey to see a tree from their memory or their imagination. To me, it is important to bring out the natural features of the tree and reproduce this in miniature. The definition of bonsai, is basically a plant in a pot, so it is up to the individual to find a style of growing and styling bonsai that appeals to them. It is like painting a picture, there are no rules, but some paintings will appeal more to certain people than others.

[@matthewmclaren2143]

@@TheBonsaiZone Very Inspirational words I thank Kind sir. I am from Scotland and have alot of trees around me which i can design my own bonsai upon.

[@paulschaefer5241]

What is that big bunch of twigs next to the fence that looks something like a broom?

[@Sam-rq4yc]

Have you ever tried to do a pepper tree bonsai?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I did have one, but it didn't make it through the winter, I had had it for two years. They do make really nice bonsai!

[@romtom8588]

Is that a Hemlock or Spruce to the right side of the Larch?

[@samuelpaulini]

You shouldn't prune the branches in a way that leaves stumps. It is properly done when you cut in an angle of new growth just after the node.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you Samuel, good advice!

[@briankavanagh7191]

Nigel, what is the name of the tree to the right of the Larch?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

That is the Douglas Fir forest, here are the videos..... kzbin.info/aero/PLQouTWwmTQowR0pjkHoOo6mTzj-fKP8ZH

[@MrCoCoColby]

why is this one larch? I though bonsai were supposed to be small

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Larch is the tree species, bonsai can come in all sizes, small to Larch!

[@bonsaimoldova]

Looking trough your videos, found the series on chinese elm - did it survive?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Only the cutting of the Elm survived, i think the cold winter did it in. I just didn't get time that year to bring my trees into the basement. Hopefully I get grow the cutting into a nice tree.

[@itsnotcasper5535]

Hi Nigel my friend do you know if larch will grow well for me here in Brisbane Australia? If anyone else here knows the info will be greatly appreciated thank you all.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

The Larches definitely need a cool rest period in winter, people in Florida have no luck growing them!

[@itsnotcasper5535]

Hi thank you for the reply please keep up the good work

[@vamanjoshi4053]

Nice, where do you get so much time. Good luck 👍

[@ianmcdougall1035]

Hi Nigel, I am from Scotland where we have many larch trees and I also grow Bonsai. I think you could get a nice image much quicker if you wired some of your branches rather than clip and grow. I also think you can give more age to the tree if you wired the lower branches down as on old trees

[@deploribusunum3894]

My little Larch didn't make it through winter. Try try again!

[@R_H21]

Oh no! What will you do differently next time? I just got one... can’t remember if it was before or during winter but it’s still in its 4 inch pot. I hope to be a good caretaker of it.

[@smrutiprasadbissoyi]

What happened to your apple tree... Please give an update on that tree🙏

[@TheBonsaiZone]

The Apple tree is alive, you can see it in this video.... kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqGah5aJn9WYf9U

[@MikezDoesThat]

Do you have any way we could chat? I know you could help! I really want to try to do some bonsai trees

[@TheBonsaiZone]

You can email me at.... [e-mail]

[@timothygreer188]

shame that all the branch trimming was out of focus

[@pansepot1490]

Really?! I thought it was my fault for not putting my glasses on. 😂

[@timothygreer188]

@@pansepot1490 I actually cleaned my glasses, twice 🤓

[@thatssokenneth6970]

Hey nigel. Love your videos. Got a few things I wanted to run by you. Pick your brain. And see what you think about an idea I have. Comment back so we can get in touch. Love the vids. Very educational

[@douglasfir306]

Nigel: "I will reduce this branch a little" Me: Waiting for Nigel to cut one maybe two buds of length. Nigel: _Cuts half the branch_

[@TheBonsaiZone]

You can always grow a branch longer, but getting them shorter is the hard part!

[@Tony-ys3yo]

N

[@bingcrosby1378]

I figure out how to fix your trees in the pot without using wire cable. Big fat rocks

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I collect round rocks and use them on my trees. Round rocks are very hard to find, but I keep looking!

[@bingcrosby1378]

@@TheBonsaiZone try search in aquarium shops, i go there to looks for specific type of rocks, they have literally everything.